Tuesday, April 11, 2017

In early June Denise and I will embark on what has become an annual trip to California. The timing for this is anchored to include the conference of the Southern California Genealogical Society: For the last four years this conference has been enhanced by including an all day pre-conference that is focused solely on genetic genealogy. For full details click here:

On that DNA Thursday I will be making two presentations and taking part in another event.

Family History Plus Health History Leads to Personalized Healthcare
Genealogy records family relationships. Health history reveals causes of death,
disabilities, chronic diseases, or known genetic disorders within families.
How can you build an accurate family health/medical history? Should you? Can
genealogists lead the way to personalized healthcare/medicine? Level: Beg.,
Int., Adv. (David R. Dowell, PhD)

Was Henderson Dowell's Father of African
or European Descent?At Emancipation Henderson Dowell of Wilkes County, North Carolina, was 20
years old and enslaved by Pricilla Dowell. His living descendants are mixed African-American
and European-American. Did his paternal ancestors come to America from Europe
or from Africa? Level: Beg., Int. (David R.
Dowell, PhD)

Friday I get to go from presenter mode to learner mode in an all morning workshop.

Autosomal DNA Chromosome
Mapping and Phasing Workshop
This workshop will review ways in which autosomal DNA can be mapped so that DNA
segments may be attributed to individual ancestors. Participants will be shown
how to begin or continue the process of mapping their DNA. In addition, techniques
for phasing their DNA will be demonstrated. Level: Adv. (Tim
P. Janzen, MD) Participants need to bring laptops to the workshop loaded
with Excel or other spreadsheet program.

Later Friday I get back on the other side of the mike for a panel discussion.

While I am conferring, Denise will be visiting her sister and brother who live nearby. Also on Friday our non-biological grandson, Cameron Adams, will be graduating from San Luis Obispo High School. He also happens to be my 10th cousin -- twice removed.We will also help him celebrate his birthday on Sunday. On Monday, in what is becoming an annual tradition, we will meet a group of our former neighbors and friends for lunch at the Great American Fish Company at the T-pier in Morro Bay where the sea otters have been in great abundance this Spring.

Tuesday we plan to have a late lunch with two newly discovered 4th cousins. One of them is a former colleague I have known for years but had no idea we were related until last Fall. The other will be flying in from Texas for the occasion. They are half-sisters who met for the first time in November. For their story see here.

The following morning we will fly back to Nashville exhausted but with many memories to cherish.